Brain organization of the recognition of fragmented images in subjects who show different levels of task performance success

Abstract

We studied the behavioral and EEG changes in healthy adults during recognition of fragmented images presented in a series beginning with a low fragmentation level up to a complete figure. Our sample was divided into two groups according to the recognition success. The first group made few mistakes. The other group made significantly more mistakes compared to the first group; this group had a shorter reaction time and a lower recognition threshold (i.e., the fragmentation level at which the object became recognizable). The ERP analysis showed the statistical dependence between the recognition success and the involvement of the frontal and caudal cortical areas. Compared to the second group, in the first one, we found no significant association between the recognition process and either early or late ERP components in the dorsolateral pre frontal cortex and found an increase of sensory specific components P1 and P2 in the caudal areas. These results support the hypothesis on the impact of the prefrontal cortex on the successfulness of recognition of fragmented images.